Kiss of the Dark Pt. 2

Chapter 7

Applejack tapped the wheel of the cart with her hoof, testing to make sure Big Mac’s repairs would hold. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, she could trust him with her life, but it was more out of habit than anything else. Sure, it would hold, but she wouldn’t feel comfortable with it unless she tested it. And even then, it wouldn’t feel right until she’d already been using it for an hour or so, and got used to the new wobble.

It held, as the repairs always did, and she smiled before starting to load up the cart with crates of apples. Four crates of Sweet Apple Acre’s best, kept edible by the only Unicorn magic Granny would allow in the process; a stasis spell. Which, coincidentally, had been put on by Twilight. Funny how things came ‘round like that. Granted, after a while it started dyin’ ‘em a funny blue, but they still tasted the same.

With the crates loaded, Applejack followed with the sleeping bags, a few loads of firewood, a spare axe, and tents. Plural, jes’ in case. After which, she stared at the cart. She was forgettin’ something, she knew that, but she didn’t know what. She hated that feelin’. She went over the list one more time in her head. She wasn’t no Twi, but she could keep a simple list straight. Food, tents, sleeping bags, firewood, axe, what else?

She smirked as she realized jes’ what Twi would probably miss most. Some of her books. Well, she couldn’t get into the Library, but Applejack knew Granny probably had a few books lyin’ ‘round the farmhouse. Sure, they might keep Twi occupied for only a couple days at the most, but that was better than nothing.

She turned and exited the barn, making a beeline towards the house, but she stopped as she passed by Jerry. (Jerry being Bloomberg’s brother, havin’ come from the same apple.) She could’ve sworn she’d heard somepony whisper “AJ!” to her. Which was a mite creepy, seeing as there wasn’t nopony nearby to make the sound. Weren’t nopony in front of her, behind her, or either side. She was too far away from either the farmhouse or the barn for the whisper to come from there. Maybe somepony was hiding behind one of the trees?

“AJ! Up here!” came the whisper again. Slowly, she looked upward into Jerry’s branches, where Twi and a pony that could only be Sombra were tangled in the branches.

“Twi? Great as it is ta see ya, why in the sam hill are ya wrapped in mah tree? An’ why’s that rat up there with ya?” Sombra craned his neck to face Twi, and muttered somethin’ that sounded a whole heckuva lot like, “Will all of your friends have such colourful insults?”

“AJ! Thank goodness, I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t heard me. We had to climb up here when your brother almost saw us, and I slipped, and when we tried to magic our way out we only got more tangled!”

Applejack sighed. “One sec, Twi.” She turned, and tapped Jerry with her hind hoof. Eeyup. Still ol’ Jerry. She wound up, before giving him a perfect kick, and Twi dropped right out of his branches like a newborn Timberwolf.

“Um. Applejack, was it? You seem to have forgotten me.”

“Didn’t forgit nothin’, Sombrero. Gonna have me a nice talk with mah friend first.” Twi brushed herself off, before frowning at her.

“There’s no need for that, Applejack. I trust Sombra with my life.”

“An’ I don’t, Sugarcube. Don’t reckon I got much reason to, neither, what with the whole disappearing theme he’s got goin’. First the Crystal Empire, then you. Seems an’ awful lot like I shoulda knocked him down jes’ to give him a kick in th’ head, actually-“

“AJ! How dare you!” This right threw Applejack for a loop. “Whoa, what- What’s all this now?”

“This is you threatening my special somepony. Apologize, and let him down now.” AJ hadn’t noticed before, but Twi was wearin’ what looked an awful lot like Sombra’s cape, but with her colours ‘stead of his. Her eyes looked downright off as well, what with the green glow and the purple mist, the whole nine yards. Applejack sighed again.

“Aw, Tartarus, he done got you sucked up in his whole scheme, now didn’t he? Ah can’t say exactly what I was expectin’, but it sure weren’t this. Fact, I was kinda hopin’ this were all some mighty big misunderstandin’, and ya’ll had just plum fergot ta return a Library book or somethin…”

“Applejack, Let him down from the Tree.”

She glanced back up at the Stallion, who seemed to be.. eating a small bag of rock candy. Alright then. “Twi, I can’t do that, ya’ll know it. He’s an evil dictator, and he’d lie an’ cheat an’ do anything to-“ She was cut off as a purple tendril of magic –darker purple than usual, too- grabbed her ‘round the throat.

“Yeah, that’s about enough of that. I don’t want you insulting him.”

Applejack struggled to get her next sentence out, but it made it all the same. “Ya…don’t really…love him…all jes’… a trick…”

Twilight snarled, tightening her grip. “Don’t give me that. I know you’re a damned good judge of character, AJ, so judge this carefully.” She pulled her closer, leaning right into her face. “I love Sombra, Applejack. He might’ve done quite a bit of bad, but Celestia’s starting to do much worse, and he’s at least willing to stop. I trust him to stop. I can help him be a good guy, AJ, but if Ponies like you aren’t willing to even give him a chance…” She gave one last squeeze, fully cutting off Applejack’s air. “Then I guess I’ll just have to make them give him, and us, a chance.”

Applejack’s eyes were darting around wildly, and the veins in her eyes were starting to bulge, but she was still trying to choke out something. “…dun…do…this…”

Sombra’s voice cut through the red haze Twilight had found herself in. “My Queen, you’re killing her.”

“Good.” She was starting to turn a light blue. Not unlike one of her stasis spells.

“As much as I dislike being on her side, Twilight, this isn’t right.”

“Neither is the way she’s treating you.” AJ’s vision was starting to get spotty, large terrifyin’ blobs crawling across her vision like giant ants…

“Twilight Sparkle. She’s your friend.” That did it. The magic imploded, dropping AJ to the dirt below with a thump, where she started taking huge, gasping breaths. She was immediately grabbed again by Twi, and she panicked fer another second, but relaxed slightly as she realized it was a hug instead of a choke-hold.

“Applejack! Omigoshomigoshomigosh I can’t believe I just did that! Are you alright?” Applejack managed to get enough strength back to pry Twi off her, and push her away.

“Git away from me, Twi.”

“Applejack, I said I’m-“

“Git. Away. From. Me.” Twi seemed shocked silent by that, but she still backed up a step. “Ya’ll jes’ plum near kilt me. Ain’t happy ‘bout that. Now ya’ll listen and listen good.” Twilight nodded, as did Sombra above in the tree. “I was plannin’ to help ya’ll, Twi. Weren’t plannin on ya’ll bringin that monster in with ya. And us Apples, we may let one monster in on trust and hard work, but two’s jes outta the question.”

“AJ, I-“

“Shut it. Now, ya’ll are in luck. Already packed yer cart, and it’s in the barn. Go. Take it. An’ I’ll give ya’ll a half hour’s head start afore I call the guard. But that’s all the help yer gonna get from me, lessin ya shape up yer act.”

“…Thank you, AJ. I’m sorry.”

“Sayin’ it once didn’t help. Twice won’t neither.” With that, she turned to leave, only pausing by Jerry’s trunk. “Well, last bit a’ help after this.” With another kick, Sombra fell out of the branches, and right on his ass.

Applejack bucked a tree.

Rainbow Dash was about half a kilo from the old ruins when something slammed into her, knocking her out of the sky. She was falling before she knew it, crashing through at least three trees, before bodily slamming into the ground. She laid there for a moment, just catching her breath, during which a Batpony came into her vision.

“…Who…”

“Name, rank, serial number. Now.” He didn’t have a scratch on him, not after having tackled her through a bucking tree, and for that Dash decided she hated him. As she stared at him, his armor flickered just the tiniest bit, as did his fur. Midnight purple shifted to dull orange –but just for a nanosecond. So he wasn’t normally a Batpony, then.

He snarled, and prodded her ribs. “Name, rank, and serial number! On the double!”

“Uh… Dash, Rainbow. Wonderbolt! E419!” The not-Batpony raised an eyebrow.

“Really? A wonderbolt? This ain’t a public relations op. Can’t have you wandering around in restricted airspace. State your business, Cadet.”

“I was… I was gonna go check out the old Everfree Ruins, ‘Cause I thought Twilight Sparkle might be hiding there-“

“She isn’t. You’re wasting your time.” A few feet away, a Batpony unicorn seemed to fade out of the shadows, and approached them silently. The Pegasus called out to him without looking. “Scan her.” The Unicorn’s horn lit, and he moved it up and down the length of Rainbow’s torso before nodding.

“She’s clean and clear. No illusion spells, no bugs.”

“Good.” He glared at her again. “Get out of here, Cadet. Consider this a warning: The Everfree Ruins are to be considered a restricted area, by the orders of Princess Luna.”

“Restricted- Since when?”

“Since it became a military archeological dig. Scram.” Rainbow glanced around the clearing again. She could totally outfly this chump. And that Unicorn ass couldn’t muster enough force to stop her before she got out of range.

Then, she noticed a faint shimmer hanging on the edge of the clearing. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes, before realizing that it was really there. It was another Unicorn, cloaked. And surrounding her, now that she knew what to look for, were many more. Almost the entire clearing was completely surrounded. She could escape one unicorn’s grasp… But escaping this many was out of the question.

Seeing her squinting around, the Batpony Pegasus smirked. “Noticed them, huh? No funny business. Just leave, nice and slow, and we won’t have any problems. Got it?” She wanted to gloat, to be as much an ass to him as he had to her, but she had this annoying feeling that if she did, she’d end up in a cell again. Frankly, once was enough for this week.

She extended her wings, and began to flap almost lethargically, moving painfully slowly. She was leaving for now… But mark her bucking words, she was gonna be coming back to find out what all this crap was about.

Real soon, jackass. Real soon.

On the other side of the street from the Golden Oaks Library, the intrepid duo of Gilda and Fluttershy wasn’t doing much better. While Gilda was sizing up their security, Fluttershy was cowering inside a trash can. This had slowed them down somewhat. Gilda poked the side of the metal cylinder again.

“C’mon, Flutterbutt. Seriously. Guards be damned, they gotta let us into the library still. It’s a public building.”

A timid squeak came as the reply. “But…they’re so big, and their armor is so shiny, and they all look so very angry…”

Gilda glanced back at the front door, than to the trash can. “Yeah, all that stuff’s true, but trust me; that’s just the military posturing they’re doing. Those soldiers are ponies, just like… well, you, and they’re soldiers, just like me. One way or another, we’re gonna get in there. Alright?”

“…You can go on without me, really, I don’t mind…”

Gilda sighed, before picking up the trashcan and lifting it a metre off the ground. “Up an’ at ‘em, Atom Man!” And then she flipped the can upside down, shaking it until a yellow Pegasus fell out onto her rear with an “Eep!” Gilda set the can back down, landing next to the Pegasus in question, who was busy trying to hide inside her hair.

“Fluttershy, come on! Dash needs us, and really, Twilight needs us! I don’t care If you have to hide between my legs like a shy foal the whole time, I’m going inside that Library, and you’re coming with me! Are you gonna let Twilight down?”

“…No…”

“Yeah, didn’t think so! Just stick close. Doesn’t matter what kinda crap they’re gonna try and pull, they won’t be allowed to hurt us. Alright?” At Fluttershy’s tentative nod, Gilda set out across the street, and they both arrived at the door in seconds. One of the guards barked a warning, eyes somehow never shifting from some spot a metre in front of him.

“Halt! State your business with Emperor Shining Armor and/or Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!” Gilda flashed him her rank patches.

“Gotta get inside the Library. Military bidness. Scoot.”

“Denied. Get outta here, catbird.”

Gilda’s beak dropped. “What the fuck did you just call me?”

There was the ghost of a grin on his buddy’s face as the stallion spoke again. “I called you a catbird. Gotta problem with that, beakshit?”

Gilda snarled. “Yeah, I got a problem with that! Do you have any idea how racist that is, you fuckin’ Canterlot prick?”

The stallion’s eyes gleamed, and he twitched the polearm he had, just shifting his hold enough to remind her of its presence. “Well, I know you featherfucks decided now was a good time to invade. I can’t stand the idea of you beaks playing soldier on our land, eating our food and terrorizing our citizens, and I’m pretty sure the Emperor don’t neither.”

His buddy noticed Fluttershy, and nudged him, whispering. “Dude. Hot mare, right behind her. Looks fuckin’ terrified.” He turned to face her completely. “Heya, baby. What say you ditch this catty bitch and you and me go out for drinks sometime?”

Fluttershy shrunk back underneath Gilda, stammering, “Well, I.. uh… I don’t drink… and you’re not being particularly nice to my friend, and…”

The first guardpony just scoffed. “Yeah, sure. Tell ya what, my commanding officer isn’t watching right now, why don’t you,” he pointed at Fluttershy with his hoof. “Go into that alley over there,” He moved his hoof to the alley in question. “And then you and me, we’ll fuck, yeah?” Fluttershy’s eyes got wide as dinner plates.

The Guardpony smirked at this. “Surprised, huh? I’ll even bet my buddy here’ll fuck your catbird friend, if she can keep her fucking catty attitude to herself for four fucking seconds. How’s that?” Gilda’s claws started clawing along the ground, like she was already imagining tearing the pony’s throat out…

But she didn’t get the chance. What the guardpony had interpreted as shock from the yellow mare had only been that near the beginning, quickly becoming pure anger. Fluttershy leapt into the air, fluttering her wings to appear larger, and started shouting. “How dare you!”

“What-“

“How DARE you! You think mares are just your playthings, items for your fellow guardsponies to stare at and have sex with? I’ll remind you, sir, that our Royal Highnesses, both of them, are mares! And what would Princess Celestia have to say, should she find out that her guards are such pigs?”

“Listen, bitch-“

“She’d banish you to the moon! Without air! But she’d make you immortal, just so you could experience asphyxiating not quite to death for every second of the next miserable thousand years! And Luna! What would Princess Luna do?”

“I… I don’t-“

“She’d gut you where you bucking stand!” Fluttershy screamed at him, at the top of her lungs. “Now, we have business here, and you’d do well to get the BUCK out of our way, and maybe, just maybe, I won’t tell the rulers of the Crystal Empire, who, might I remind you, are just inside, how you’ve treated us! I don’t even know what they’ll do!”

Gilda looked up and down the street as Fluttershy glared at the cowed guard, seeing what must have been everypony from here to Trottingham drop what they were doing to stare at Fluttershy. Surely that couldn’t have been sweet little Fluttershy that just said that? Of course not! It was absurd! And Gilda wasn’t with her in the slightest. Nope, no way, no how. Just happened to be standing here.

Fluttershy looked back to Gilda, and for a second, she could see an inferno in those eyes, the fires a hundred times worse than that of Tartarus, and the it was gone. “Um… This way, Gilda?”

Author's Note

Everypony might be getting a little bit on edge... Maybe they're mad about me not updating often enough.
Anyway, How're you guys doing? Still going strong, or am I jumping around a little bit too much?
(Oh, and before I forget, Dash's callsign may have been inherited from somewhere else...)